Once Upon A Smile
by cOpiE-niNja
Summary: Right then, she vowed to take his pain, heal his heart and bring back his long forgotten smile – the smile that he used to stop her from crying when they were young the smile that made her stronger and the same smile that taught her how to love.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto... wish I did! XD

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_A fanfiction dedicated to Jamjam._

_Happy Birthday, CHUBACHUCHU! :D_

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**ONCE UPON A SMILE**

By: cOpie-niNja

Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so faraway, there lived a handsome prince who never smiled.

It was believed that the Queen's death is what caused the predicament of the prince, but they could only wonder, for not a single soul in the whole kingdom knew of the real reason.

Now that the prince has finally come of age, the great King of the Leaf Kingdom knew that his only heir would soon assume his throne. In order to prepare the prince of this future duty, finding his queen was the first step.

The King called for the different ladies all over his land.

"_She who can make the Prince smile would be promised marriage to my son!" He dared, gazing at all the women gathered before him._

Each maiden tried her best to please the prince and win his heart, but nobody prevailed. The women who wanted to try their chances on the prince lessened by each passing hour, until none of them was willing to take the impossible challenge anymore. It was evident to all that no one could make the prince smile.

Desperation to find the perfect woman to wed his son grew for the king. He still believed that someone would be able to bring back the smile his son had long forgotten.

Fortunately, a visit from the neighbouring kingdom brought a little spark of hope back to him.

"Greetings, my king!" addressed the newcomer. The man sported the classic Englishman look—proudly puffing sleeves, high-cut stockings and a pair of extravagant shoes. His eyes were round, with at least three lashes per eye. He had black, shiny locks which were perfectly kept, as it was arranged wherein his hair concealed his ears.

The king welcomed him back even though he cannot remember where and when they met.

"Welcome, welcome! Have you had a safe voyage?" asked the king politely.

"Oh yes, dear king. We had wonderful encounters on our way to your kingdom!" The visitor smiled, and after some thought, spoke again. "My apologies, please allow me introduce myself."

"Have we never met before?" the king asked, confused.

"Oh no, my king. Perhaps it was my uncle you have seen before. Then again, let me introduce myself. I am Rock Lee, Princess Sakura's guardian."

"A princess? Where is she? Where is she? Can I see her? Bring her in!" The excited king exclaimed. Just then, another visitor entered.

"My, my... King Uchiha! I must pay you my deepest regrets... I shouldn't have made this insolent servant of mine to talk to you disrespectfully. What can I do to gain your forgiveness?" The newcomer bowed. He was stout but a bit tall. His golden crown conquered his head, pushing his white hair upward.

"Why, how have you been, old friend? It's been a long time!" King Uchiha motioned to command the guest to stand up. He continued, "Do not worry about that servant of yours. He did nothing harmful to me. Let us just forget about that, shall we? How are you?"

"Thank you, my friend. I am in a fine condition. And you?"

"Ahh... I am in good health. I am afraid it is my son who is unwell..." sadness overflowed the king.

"Do not be unhappy, King. For as you requested, I have brought my daughter with me in this journey. Daughter, come in!" By his order, the princess entered the room. The lady was magnificently pretty. Her hair was pink as that of the cherry blossoms and her eyes were the colour of the emerald. She wore a long crimson gown accented with laces and ribbons and small bright rubies scattered throughout her dress.

King Uchiha was astounded at what he saw and immediately took the hand of the princess. His eyes were glistening at the sight of her.

"My, my! You have such a lovely daughter, my king. She has a beautiful hair and a pair of splendid eyes!"

King Haruno replied with a big smirk planted on his face. What a proud father, he is.

"Tell me, fair maiden, do you still remember my son?" asked the eager king. The princess smiled charmingly and said, "Indeed, your majesty. Isn't he the boy I used to play with when we were young?"

"Absolutely! It is him! How would you like it to be his wife?" King Uchiha proposed straightforwardly.

Princess Sakura was unable to react and the feeling of shock and disbelief marked her pretty face.

Apparently, King Haruno saw this. To avoid misunderstandings, he excused, "Pardon me, sweet Princess. Would you care to leave me and the good king alone for a second? We have some matters to talk about."

She nods and then leaves the two old kings alone.

- - - - - - - - - -

To ease her mind from the surprising proposal by the king, Princess Sakura ended up wandering around the castle. It was magnificently beautiful, she thought to herself. Surely, their castle was huge and charming, too, but the Leaf kingdom is greater in every way.

Hanged on the wall of the palace were portraits of the King, the Queen –who she said had an enchanting beauty – and the young and handsome prince. At his sight, the princess recognized him at once. However, his portraits made her wonder why the boy she used to laugh with before, abandoned his mesmerizing smile.

Her aimless journey led her to the castle gardens. Ah! It was still the same! She remembered the tantalizing loveliness of this place as the pretty flowers and nurtured plants lodged on its fertile grounds swayed and danced with every blowing wind.

Emerald orbs of hers gazed at the picturesque view before her, enjoying nature at its finest. As her eyes strolled around, it caught the sight of someone.

He was the same face decorated on the castle walls she saw earlier. He was the familiar face she longed to see. He was her old friend, Prince Sasuke.

The prince was staring blankly into nowhere. He was sitting on the grassy earth, eyes focused in a distant view. Suddenly, the princess felt pity on him. Though he did not seem to be sad, the princess felt the hidden aches that everybody failed to feel. Right then, she vowed to take his pain, heal his heart and bring back his long forgotten smile – the smile that he used to stop her from crying when they were young; the smile that made her stronger; and the same smile that taught her how to love.

"H-hi!" she greeted him. Unknowingly, Princess Sakura was already in front of the prince.

There was no reply. He just stared at her and returned to wherever he was staring.

"Excuse my rudeness, uhm..." her words were all of a sudden lost. "You must not remember me but... I used to play with you when we were little. I am—"

"Princess Sakura, right? Yes, I do remember you."

Her lips smiled. He remembers her!

"Great! How have you been? We've never seen each other for a period of time."

"..." the prince was focused back to his distant gaze. She did not mind, though and continued.

"How are you?"

"..."

"Are you –", she was interrupted with the abrupt words of the prince.

"Did my father call on you? To be honest, I really don't remember who you are or who you were. If you could, please..." and he pointed to somewhere, far from him.

This caught the princess off-guard. Sakura really believed that the prince also remembered her. She was already reaching the limits of her temper. Whatever the means, she will make the prince smile.

Princess Sakura recalled an instance when the prince cheered her up when she fell on the ground. He made weird faces and surprised her until she was able to forget her pain. '_That could help!'_ she thought.

And so, Sakura tried her very best to distort her face with her hand and with the gestures of her eyes, nose and mouth. Finally, she tapped him. He looked at her. And...

He turned away. "What are you doing?"

"Huh? I... uhm..." she was ashamed. How could she, a well-mannered princess, possibly risk her lovely image in front of the Leaf prince? Her face turned red.

"Y-you used to do this... to make me smile... w-when we were young." She was blushing with shame.

She was not close to giving in! Her blush grew a deeper red as she recalled one incident when she was unexpectedly kissed by the prince. It may look –and feel—awkward afterwards, but a kiss might help. She couldn't help but smile the whole day after that kiss, so this may work on him too!

She smiled, still blushing. Slowly, she moved her face closer to his. She pouted her lips to emphasize her kiss and then...

SMACK!

She did it.

"W-WHA?!" Prince Sasuke did not believe what he felt. A stinging sensation... the lips of the maiden beside her touched his bare cheeks... he could feel the warmth of it... and he did not know how to respond... It was outrageous!

He looked at the princess and saw her laughing. _'How could she?!'_ he thought. He could hear the giggle of her voice, amused at the act she had done to him.

The kiss was not the answer, though. He was even angered than happy to what she did. But she cannot refuse to chuckle when she saw the shocked impression on his face. He was so charming!

Princess Sakura was denied plenty of times. The prince was very reluctant to her and never did smile. She was finally ready to give up.

Just then, she heard a croaking sound. It was getting louder and louder, as if coming towards her. Not long after, something slimy, something warm rest upon her hand.

The pounding of her heart was getting faster... she was nervous.

_Something _was definitely on her hands, and it doesn't feel good at all!

_What could that strange thing be? _

She looked down at her hand.

And...

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!" she turned red. Her whole face was covered with sweat and her scream was as boisterous that one could end up deaf.

There, on her hand, rests a red colored bull frog. It was staring at her! And to her bewilderment, she thought it even winked! "WHAT'S THAT? REMOVE IT! REMOVE IT!"

Her panic and devastation faded all of a sudden. She heard a laughter echoing to her ears. It was his voice... his firm and round voice... his laughter... The prince was laughing at her. His one arm crouched his stomach as the other covered his mouth. His eyes were twinkling with joy.

She did it!

"You should have seen your face!" he teased when he finally got over the laugh trip, yet still wearing his resurrected, but nevertheless dashing, smile.

"Will you keep mum?" she pouted.

He smiled again. "Sorry."

Her heart began thumping wildly inside her chest. Her blush once again made her red as a strawberry. It was a strange feeling; nonetheless it provoked her to publish a smile back at him.

* * *

After their long talk, the two kings finally decided to set off to the dining hall where a feast was waiting. On their way, a strange sound was heard. King Uchiha searched for the resonance. The two kings stood in disbelief and amazement when they saw the prince laughing and enjoying his time with the Princess.

"My king! It is the prince!" exclaimed his servant.

The king could only smile his widest in response.

* * *

Word spread over the whole kingdom and the people began to rejoice. Soon, the prince and princess proposed to marry and were crowned the new king and queen of their kingdoms.

Eventually, like all fairy tales, King Sasuke and Queen Sakura lived happily ever after.

* * *

"_Why did you stop smiling?" she asked._

"_I felt lonely after you and your family moved to your kingdom... since then, I never had any playmates... and then my mother died... I don't really know... I just don't like to smile without you..." he turned his gaze._

_The prince spotted the frog. "Do you remember? We once took care of a wounded frog before. It has grown now," he said, allowing her to realize what he means._

"_You mean, that's the frog we nursed back then?" She was amazed._

"_You even gave it a name, have you recalled?" both their eyes stared on the jumping frog._

"_What? What did I name it?" she asked, eager to know the answer._

_He replied,_

"_You named him Naruto."_

---END---

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**Author: **THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO READ THIS FIC! *hugs*

It's my first, *official* Naruto fanfiction. If you want to leave reviews or comments, feel free to click that button down there and make this cOpiE-ninJa one happy shinobi! XD

This is for Chubachuchu's birthday! I'm not as good as you, still I hope you enjoyed my oneshot SasuSaku! :)

OR. 071220/RV. 091127


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